BlackBerry Ltd Still Popular For Government, Business In Australia

BlackBerry has come out swinging in response to a news article claiming its popularity is declining among the Australian elite class. Previously, the Canadian firm, through its official blog, responded to an article saying “Wall Street’s switching phones,” and now it is replying to an article that claims “BlackBerry ejected from the Australian Parliament.”

Australia still trusts BlackBerry

In a blog post, Blackberry claims that together with other G7 governments, Australia also trusts the firm, and for “good reason.” The post claims that Australian federal, state and local Governments “continue to trust BlackBerry,”

According to the blog, Australian politicians such as New South Wales State Premier Mike Baird, Federal Minister for Industry and Science Ian McFarlane and even Prime Minister Tony Abbott have been spotted with BlackBerry devices secured with “gold standard” BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES).

Talking about the article, the blog notes that the story failed to factor in that BlackBerry is an enterprise mobility company, and many government departments including major federal and state Government departments continue to trust BES for both BlackBerry and devices running on other OSes.

In addition, the blog names some of the federal government organizations that use BES12 to power BB10 and devices running on the iOS, Android and other OS. The blog claims that the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO), Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) are few of the federal agencies that use BES.

In noting the state level agencies using the BES for mobile management, the blog mentions the New South Wales Government, who named BES its Mobile Device Management (MDM) partner in 2014.

BlackBerry now “truly cross-platform”

Separately, citing a report from analyst firm Telsyte, the blog mentions that more and more government departments and businesses are opting for BlackBerry services to make their mobile more productive and secure. Furthermore, the post notes that the Canadian firm continues to win Australian customers “for its security, productivity and collaboration.”

Recently, BlackBerry Australia and New Zealand MD Matthew Ball told The Australian that the company is betting big on its enterprise revival. Yesterday, BlackBerry also announced “Cross-platform Enterprise Mobility Strategy Creates Momentum for BlackBerry in Australia.”

The post accepts that the “smartphone preferences have changed” with many using non-BlackBerry devices, but that’s “ok” as “We secure them too.” The blog goes on to claim that nothing is more secure than a BlackBerry device on BES, but acknowledges that the company is very different today, and is “truly cross-platform.”